Ordinario 1598

Curator: Here we have "Ordinario," an engraving by Christoph Krieger, dating back to 1598. What’s your immediate response to this piece? Editor: My first thought is one of somber reflection; there is something intensely private in the way the subject turns away from the book that frames him. The line work feels incredibly deliberate. Curator: Krieger’s focus here seems less on capturing an individual likeness and more on representing a type, the 'ordinary' man, if you will. It is, after all, figuration rendered with stark lines and set amidst text—a study in contrasts, would you agree? Editor: Precisely. I would also say there is so much more than just the individual to analyze here. The lines work not only to compose him, but to trap and solidify his existence on the page as part of a bigger project. And note how his hand leads out of the frame and toward this project, towards us, inviting our attention to that project as well as the picture that we are looking at. Curator: It's a portal, almost. What I find really engaging is how the simplicity of the man is juxtaposed against the very ornate and sort of playful decorative border that surrounds him. It's like framing the mundane with the magical. Editor: Indeed. That frame almost serves as a linguistic boundary, distinguishing our ‘ordinario’ from all others like him and designating him as ‘THE Ordinario’ to be understood. To have this moment immortalized is really a chance encounter! Curator: Exactly! It forces us to look closer at who we consider “ordinary”. To really unpack and appreciate the individual. And with such a piece—almost incidentally dropped inside an unread book, what better symbol for that idea? Editor: An unassuming individual rendered quite grand and inviting further thought… A fantastic combination.